State, National Leaders to Address Annual Legislative Conference

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, DNC Chairman Howard Dean, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and an architect of the Maryland Fair Share Health Care law are among the speakers lined up for the 2006 CWA Legislative-Political Conference beginning Sunday in Washington, D.C.

More than 500 CWA members from across the country are signed up to attend the four-day conference, which will mix speakers, workshops and panels with time for participants to meet with lawmakers and their staff on Capitol Hill about issues important to CWA and all working families.

"Once again we are at a critical point in history," CWA Executive Vice President Jeff Rechenbach said. "Our legislative conference will set the stage for the hard work we have ahead in the months leading to the 2006 midterm elections, another election day that can fairly be called one of the most important in our lifetimes."

Health care, pensions, the vast U.S. trade imbalance and its effect on working families, and passage of the Employee Free Choice Act to restore the fundamental rights of workers to organize and bargain collectively are among issues members will discuss in their Capitol Hill meetings. Other issues include:

• Passage of the Call Center Consumers Right to Know Act of 2006, a bill to give customers the right to know where call-takers are based, as companies continue to move jobs to India, Vietnam, the Philippines and other off-shore locations.
  
  
• The gross inequities in the latest federal budget submitted by the Bush administration, which would protect tax breaks for the wealthy while slashing 42 education programs, food stamps, food and housing subsidies for seniors in poverty and many other programs that protect the most vulnerable citizens.
  
  
• Telecommunications reform that protects American jobs and demands a national broadband policy like the ambitious initiatives in Japan and Korea that are connecting every business and household to high-speed networks.
  
  
• A national shield law protecting journalists and their confidential sources, which is fundamental to the public's right to know in a free and open society.
  
  
• A federal peace officer's bill of rights to ensure that police officers have a fair system of due process in disciplinary matters, as their jobs grow increasingly complex and dangerous.

In addition to Pelosi, other speakers from Capitol Hill include Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.), Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), Rep. John Spratt (D-S.C.), Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (D-Ohio) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

Also speaking is Maryland Speaker of the House Michael Busch who pushed for the nation's first "Fair Share" legislation forcing large companies — i.e., Wal-Mart — to spend a percentage of their payroll to provide health benefits for employees or pay into a state Fair Share Health Care Fund. Launched by the AFL-CIO, Fair Share campaigns are underway in 33 states.